With rapper CeeLo Green engaged to girlfriend Shani James all of the sudden, you have to wonder why they were holding onto such a secret. It turns out CeeLo’s girlfriend has been holding onto that engagement ring for a good year, so it is possible the rapper may be announcing some wedding plans soon.

Apparently, Drake wanted his engagement to be on the “down-low,” and according to People magazine, that is exactly why we did not publicly see CeeLo Green engaged in 2015.

“Truth be told, it’s not something we wanted to promote,” says the singer. “We’re a collective power together because our private life is sacred. But you know what though, maybe it’s time. Maybe it is time for the world to know that I have a very secure situation and a loving woman supporting me the entire way.”

CeeLo also shared the story of how he proposed with the engagement ring. During a “typical night at the studio,” he went out and purchased a ring that CeeLo Green’s girlfriend had spotted several months prior. The rapper then went back to the studio and stashed the engagement ring into some old equipment. Playing it sneaky, CeeLo proposed by asking Shani James to reach into the equipment stash and grab something for him. That is when James received the most pleasant surprise of her life.

“It was the most beautiful diamond ring I had ever seen in my life. It was lit up by a light. I said, ‘What is that?’ He just looked at me and said, ‘Well…?’ And I was just like ‘Oh my goodness!'” James said. “I said, ‘Babe, I can’t believe it.’ He said, ‘You’ve been such a good woman. You’re such and amazing person. You’re my life partner. You’re my best friend. I want to share the rest of my life with you.'”

As for CeeLo Green’s wedding plans, he admits that they have not made any solid plans, although he says, “We’ll be prepared to be spontaneous.”

CeeLo Green’s Rape Comments and Sexual Assault Charges

Now that CeeLo Green’s engagement is official, the rapper says he appreciates his girlfriend’s “openness and willingness to love unconditionally” even as he went “through a number of different trials.” Included in these trials was charges of rape, where a 33-year-old woman claimed that Green “slipped” her ecstasy. The next thing she remembered was waking up naked in a hotel room.

According to the New York Daily News, prosecutors rejected a felony sexual assault charge in the case. CeeLo was able to walk free after he entered a no-jail plea deal, which allowed him to maintain he did nothing wrong, although he did admit to “sharing” the drug with the woman.

The rapper did serve community service as part of his probation for furnishing the controlled substance, but the controversy refused to die when he defended himself on Twitter with this tweet.

“If someone is passed out they’re not even WITH you consciously, so WITH implies consent,” Green tweeted. “People who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!”

“I do realize in retrospect that it was highly sensitive, what I tweeted – highly irresponsible,” Green said, according to Rolling Stone. “It did stem from emotion causing some involuntary action, and I do believe that, maybe just possibly, we could all give each other a margin for human error.”